Who's gonna win the Finals MVP? You know the drill, click on the graph at the right, blah blah blah.

LonestarROB

06-06-2001, 05:16 PM

Guess I'm the only one who thinks Kobe will be MVP. i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif

Mavinator

06-06-2001, 05:33 PM

That should probably tell you something...

LonestarROB

06-07-2001, 02:34 PM

Yeah, I thought there was atleast a few intelligent posters here. Guess I was wrong, I'm the ONLY one. i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif hehe

Mavinator

06-07-2001, 03:36 PM

Boy, 5-20, plus about 90 turnovers. I'll bet the lakers were wishing they had Eddie Jones last night... Shaq was wishing he had Penny...

TheKid

06-07-2001, 04:12 PM

lol Mavinator

LonestarROB

06-07-2001, 04:15 PM

I'm all for Kobe going 5-20 and turning the ball over 90 times. I hate Kobe just as much as the next guy, he's just been playing fantastic thus far. That's why I chose him. i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif

Mavinator

06-09-2001, 04:24 PM

Man, three fouls and two BIG turnovers in the fourth quarter last night... kobe is really ruining his &quot;legend&quot;...

MFFL

06-09-2001, 08:18 PM

Shaq was amazing. He needed 2 blocks and 1 assist to have a quadruple double for Game 2.

Flying Tiger

06-11-2001, 11:54 PM

If the finals ended now...the MVP would be Shaq, but they aren't going to. I don't think that Shaq will be able to carry this team, Kobe will step up his game and be the playoff MVP.

Mavinator

06-12-2001, 01:26 PM

After kobe's horrendous performances the last three games, especially in the clutch, there is no way in hell that kobe is winning the finals MVP. He'll be fourth in the voting behind Shaq, Iverson, and Robert Horry. The amazing thing about the way Shaq is playing right now is, usually you can tell when he's really playing hard and when he's not, and I swear it looks like he's just playing on cruise control so far through this series...

djb

06-12-2001, 01:31 PM

Hey don't forget Kobe's &quot;clutch&quot; shot late in the fourth when he scored a couple points to hold off the Sixers, who were threatening to overcome the 1pt deficit. Marv Albert or whoever was commentating, kept pointing that out. As if that made him the game MVP or something. i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif

Flying Tiger

06-15-2001, 12:56 AM

I've changed my mind...Kobe's flopped in the Finals. Now I tink it goes to Shaq. He has dominated all areas of the floor and they can't stop him. But by the true meaning of the award...I think that it should go to Iverson, but I don't think it will go to a player on the loosing team.

Flying Tiger

06-15-2001, 12:56 AM

I accidently posted my above comment twice so I'm editing it and putting this in its place. I hope you have enjoyed this as much as I have.

Next year Lue needs to assert himself more on offense. He is truly a superstar and he ought to be getting at least 25 FGA per game like kobe. God Lue is awesome. To think we could have drafted him if we hadn't traded for Steve Nash instead...

Mavinator

06-15-2001, 08:25 PM

SO MANY LOST OPPORTUNITIES!

TheKid

06-18-2001, 10:57 AM

Mav, I think we should just TRADE Bradley for Lue, it would help us out don't you think?

Shaq-Kobe controversy still lingers after second title
By Sean Deveney - The Sporting News

PHILADELPHIA--- This time last season, Kobe Bryant was sitting on Ron Harper's lap, smiling, dousing Harper with champagne, dousing himself with champagne. He was slightly tipsy, giddy like a schoolboy.

Fast forward to Friday night, and it was a different Bryant sitting at the podium with the NBA championship trophy (first of all, what was that jacket he had on? Give him four wheels, and he'd be ready for the NASCAR circuit).

This version of Bryant was not exactly giddy. He sat, his cheek crinkled in his hand like a bored kid in Social Studies class, almost annoyed to be there.

Maybe it was being home in Philadelphia, rather than in LA. Maybe it was that 5-for-16 start he had. Maybe he had somewhere else to be. Or maybe it was that question, the one that kept popping up Friday night even as the Lakers wrote the finishing line in Chapter 2 of the Lakers' Big Dynasty Book.

So, uh, all that stuff that happened this season between Kobe and Shaq, is that going to happen again next year? Oh, yes, that's the question Bryant was waiting for, the one that drew the aggravated smile and deep sigh, the one that made his voice tremble as he replied.

&quot;Right now, it's a thing of the past,&quot; Bryant says. &quot;Next year, when people see us talking aggressively, it's not gonna be a thing of the past. Someone's gonna blow it out of proportion until we win another championship, and it's gonna happen again.

&quot;It's a cycle. It's gonna happen like that.&quot;

Make no mistake, this championship was not quite as sweet for the Lakers. And though they won the second of what could be six or seven championships, the question Bryant is so annoyed with is still a valid one. As long as O'Neal and Bryant are teamed, the Lakers will have an uncomfortable feel about them.

They simply have conflicting personalities, and Bryant bears the brunt of the criticism when things go wrong. In the third quarter, for example, with the Lakers up 11, Bryant lost track of his man, Eric Snow, as Snow cut into the lane and fed Dikembe Mutombo for a dunk. As the team walked off for the ensuing time out, Lakers coach Phil Jackson met Bryant on the court for a loud talking-to.

&quot;The first championship was like a honeymoon,&quot; Bryant says. &quot;This time around, we went through so much adversity, so many ups and downs. It feels good to win it. But you have mixed emotions. It's different.&quot;

Of course, the Shaq-Kobe personality divide is easily bridged with wins, and whether this team wins or loses consistently next season depends on factors beyond Bryant's control. O'Neal must show for the first half of the season in shape. The other Lakers must show up inspired. That did not happen this year.

&quot;It's tough. You come back from winning a championship, and it's hard not to gloat a little bit and say to yourself, 'Aw, we know what it takes, we're the champs, we've done it already,'&quot; says Lakers guard Brian Shaw. &quot;You have yourself thinking you can flip the switch any time, and that is what we did this season. I'd like to think we won't do that again.&quot;

O'Neal admitted his culpability. &quot;Most of the year we messed around, let a lot of teams beat us, let a lot of games slip away,&quot; O'Neal says. &quot;But the last 15, 20 games, we just became a great team.&quot;

It's a great team that could be great for a long time. Just wish they would be a little happier about it